Combined cap and ear muffs



Feb. 28, 1939. l. KRONENBERGER COMBINED CAP AND EAR MUFFS Filed Aug. 29,1938 I FJ II Je Z1 wrzznbz 1 291e 7 17 Patented Feb. 28, 1939 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE Application August 29,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to caps, and more particularly, to a novel andimproved construction of cap having earmuffs associated therewith.

An object of the invention is to provide a cap of the characterdescribed having earmufis detachably secured thereto, and being capableof adjustment, so that when in one position they will be useful toprotect the ears of the wearer, and when in another position will bemerely ornamental for enhancing the attractive appearance of the cap.

Another object of the invention is to provide in association with a capdetachable earmuifs F adapted for disposition against the upper portionof the cap when said earmuifs are not in use, and be capable of movementinto position over the ears of the wearer when their use is desired,said earmuifs being so connected as to bear firmly against the wearersears when in operative position.

A still further object of the invention is to detachably secure to a capor the like earmufi's, the securing means comprising a snap fastener,the female portion of which may be permanently secured to the body ofthecap and the male portion of which may be secured to the earmuff, andmeans for substantially entirely concealing the said female fastenerwhen the earmuff is removed from the cap.

A still further object of the invention is to provide for a cap or thelike detachable earmuifs, the means holding said earmuffs to the capbeing capable of permitting said earmufis to be moved to a plurality ofpositions relative to the cap, and means for substantially concealingfrom view the earmuffs attaching means when said earmuifs are removedfrom said cap.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device of thecharacter described, which may be produced along lines convenient forlowcost manufacture, which may be readily assembled and disassembled andwhich will, at the same time, be highly efficient for carrying out thepurposes for which it is designed.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel featuresof construction, arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter fullydescribed, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and particularlypointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that variouschanges in the form, proportion, size and minor details of the structuremay be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of theadvantages of the invention.

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of my invention, I haveillustrated in the accompanying drawing, a preferred embodiment thereof,from an inspection of which, when con- 1938, Serial No. 227,288

sidered in connection with the following description, my invention, itsmode of construction, assembly and operation, and many of its advantagesshould be readily understood and appreciated.

Referring to the drawing in which the same characters of reference areemployed to indicate corresponding or similar parts throughout theseveral figures of the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a cap having earmuffs associatedtherewith, and constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view in elevation of the side of the cap towhich the earmufi is detachablysecured, with the earmufi removed;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a fragmentary portion of the cap throughthe earmufi attaching means, said view also showing in section theearmuif ready to be attachedto the cap;

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of the inner side of the earmuff withparts thereof being shown in section;

Fig. 5 is an elevational view of a fragmentary portion of the inside ofthe cap with the lining removed.

Referring to the drawing more specifically by characters of reference,the numeral l0 designates a cap comprising a plurality of segments Hsewn together in the usual manner to produce the cap It, said cap beingprovided with the visor l2 and the inner band of stiffening material I3,as well as a suitable lining l4. As the construction so far describedforms no part of the present invention, it is not thought necessary todescribe the same in more detail.

Detachably secured to the sides of said cap H] are the earmuffsgenerally designated by the reference character l5, there being two ofsuch earmuffs I5, one detachably secured to each side of the cap forprotecting the ears of the wearer. The means for detachably securingsaid earmuifs to the cap will now be described.

Disposed between the inner band l3 and the outer covering of the cap isa strip of material l6, which may be of the same material as the outercovering of the cap, said strip being of a size so as to extend asubstantial distance on either side beyond the side seam which securestwo of the segments l I together, the lower end of said strip l6 beingsecured by the row of stitching H to the band I3 to the outer coveringII and the inner lining M, as shown in Fig. 3. The strip I 6 will act asa reinforcing strip and has rigidly secured thereto as well as to theinner band l3 a plate of metal or the like l8 in any suitable andwell-known manner, such, for example, as by means of the rivets l9, saidrivets extending through the plate l8, the band I3 and the reinforcingstrip 16. Secured to the plate I8 is the female member IQ of the snapfastener.

when in fully assembled position, said fastener l9 will be disposed sothat access thereto may be had through the opening 20 provided in thelower portion of the seam 2| connecting the two side segments H of thecap as shown more clearly in Fig. 2 of the drawing.

The earmufl, which is generally designated by the reference characterl5, may be formed of an outer cover 22 of lambskin or other suitablematerial and lining 23, the edges of which are secured to each other andto the inner edge of an elastic band 24 by means of the stitching 25.Disposed within the earmuff I is a frame of wire 26, said wire beingadapted to maintain the earmuif in extended position and desired shape,said wire frame being provided with an inwardly extending portion 21,upon which is pivotally secured the band 28 of suitable material, suchas sheet metal or the like, to which band is permanently secured themale member 29 of a snap fastener.

The free ends of the wire frame 26 are held in abutting relation to eachother by means of the metal tie or strip 30, said strip 30 being alsoeffective for limiting the movement of the member 28 in a clockwisedirection as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing.

By reason of the above arrangement, it will be noted that when theearmuff is secured to the cap by engagement of the cooperating fastenerelements I9 and 29, the earmuff will be disposed not in an exactvertical relationship with respect to the cap, but will extenddownwardly and inwardly so as to bear firmly against the ears toefiiciently protect the same, and likewise when the earmuif is in itsinoperative position against the side of the cap it will extend upwardlyand inwardly and thus lie snugly against the body of the cap, therebypresenting a neater and more attractive appearance than if it extendedstraight upwardly.

The cooperating fastening elements 19 and 29 are constructed so as to bedetachably engageablev with each other, as well as to permit rotationrelative to each other when in assembled position. With this arrangementit will be apparent that the earmuff may be entirely removed from thecap, in which case the opening 20 in the seam 2| may be moved to aposition where it will substantially entirely conceal the fasteningelement l9, said gap or opening 20 being made so as to permit the sideedges thereof to be brought into abutting relation to each other forconcealing said fastening element l9 when the earmuff is removed and topermit a separation of said side edges when it is desired to attach theearmuff to the cap. When in assembled position on the cap the earmuffsl5 may be moved to the full line position shown in Fig. l or theoperative position as shown in dotted lines in said figure.

From the above it will be apparent that I have provided a cap havingmeans associated therewith for detachably securing thereto suitableearmufis, said earmuffs being connected in such a manner as to permittheir adjustment to their operative or inoperative positions and when ineither of said positions will lie snugly against the body of the cap soas not to detract from the attractive appearance thereof.

It will also be noted that when said earmuffs are removed from said cap,the means permitting attachment of the earmuifs to the cap will besubstantially concealed from view, thus again not marrring or detractingfrom the usual appearance of the cap.

It is believed that my invention, its mode of construction and assembly,and many of its advantages should be readily understood from theforegoing without further description, and it should also be manifestthat while a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed for illustrative purposes, the structural details arenevertheless capable of wide variation within the purview of myinvention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a cap of the character described, a pair ofearmufis, and means for detachably and adjustably securing saidearmuifsto said cap, said means including a plate member fixedly secured to theinside of the cap, fastening means secured to said plate member andextending through an open seam provided in said cap, a cooperatingfastening means provided on said earmuffs for engagement with saidfirstmentioned fastening means, said fastening means, when in operativeassembly, being capable of rotating movement relative to each other, andsaid open seam being capable of concealing from view the fastening meanssecured to said plate member when the earmuff is removed therefrom.

2. In combination with a cap of the character described, a pair ofearmuffs, each earmuff having means for independent and detachableengagement with said cap, said means including the male portion of asnap fastener secured to a supporting member, over which the body of theearmufi is disposed, the female portion of the snap fastener beingfixedly secured to a portion of the cap and disposed inwardly of theouter covering of said cap, and extending through an open seam providedtherefor in the side of the cap, said open seam permitting access to thefastening element in the cap when it is desired to secure the earmufithereto, and being capable of concealing from view the said fasteningelement when the earmufi is removed from the cap, said fastening elementon the earmuff being arranged at an angle to the body thereto, wherebywhen the earmuff is attached to the cap it will, when in ear protectingposition, bear firmly against the face of the wearer, and when in itsother position will lie snugly against the head portion of the cap.

3. In a device of the character described, including a cap, anddetachable earmuffs secured thereto, said earmuffs each being providedwith one element of a snap fastener, the other element of which iscontained within the cap, open portions of each of the side seams ofsaid cap above said second-mentioned element, the lips of said seambeing separable so that the second mentioned element may projecttherethrough for engagement with said first-mentioned element, said lipsbeing formed so that they are normally juxtaposed to a closed position,concealing said second-mentioned element when said earmufis are eachremoved from said cap, presenting an unblemished appearance to thesurface of said cap IKE KRONENBERGER.

